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Dewar used to preserve body parts after death, United States, 1976-1999

A dewar is used to store liquids at very low temperatures. Liquid nitrogen was stored in this dewar at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation at temperatures of -196°C to preserve body parts, in a practice known as cryonics. Cryonics is the preservation of bodies or body parts after death. It is used by people who hope that future medical science will be able to restore them to life, and find cures for any medical conditions they may have. This dewar was made by Taylor-Wharton, a company specialising in equipment used to store liquids at very low temperatures.

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Glossary

Glossary:

Glossary: dewar flask

a double-walled flask of metal or silvered glass with a vacuum between the walls, used to hold liquids at well below ambient temperature, named after Sir James Dewar (1842–1923), Scottish chemist and physicist.

Glossary: cryonics

the practice or technique of deep-freezing the bodies of those who have died of an incurable disease, in the hope of a future cure. The term is a contraction of cryogenics, the branch of physics dealing with the production and effects of very low temperatures.